The distribution of electrically powered vehicles will increase considerably in the near future. With the distribution of electric vehicles, however, new demands are being imposed on the supply infrastructure. Electric vehicles must be able to be supplied with electrical energy not only in the domestic environment but also outside the domestic environment. To achieve this, it is intended that charging stations should be made available in public locations, at which users of electric vehicles can obtain electrical energy. The charging stations may be arranged, for example, in public car parks, in multi-storey car parks, or in private parking places, for example in the area of the user's workplace. Users of electric vehicles could then connect their vehicles to such charging stations. During their absence the battery of the electric vehicles can be charged.
The electrical energy obtained by the users of electric vehicles must, however, be paid for. Accordingly, it must be determined which user obtains what amount of electrical energy, in order to be able to bill this user. In particular in the case of publicly accessible charging stations, it must be ensured that a user only pays for the electrical energy which he actually obtains. In addition, it must be ensured that electrical energy is only made available to such users that have a valid supply contract with an energy provider. Accordingly, an identification of the user must be provided to the charging station, and thus to the energy provider, prior to a charging procedure. Only by means of successful identification can the supply of energy be cleared.
A problem with the use of stationary charging stations that are accessible in public areas, however, is that the structure of the electric vehicles will be heterogeneous, which means that the widest range of electric vehicles with the widest range of plugs and plug systems will be operated. There has still been no standard developed by means of which electric vehicles can be identified to a charging station. In addition to this, for example with retrofitted electric vehicles, the integration of identification hardware into the vehicle itself can be difficult.
For the reasons given above, the subject-matter was based on the object of providing a simple and versatile identification of users to charging stations.